Relai is a Swiss Bitcoin Exchange that currently uses IBANs to allow users to acquire bitcoins. This is still not a completely private way to purchase bitcoins, but some users like this option because they do not have to show any type of identification documentation or give the exact details of their location. This form of KYC is less intrusive, but it is still revealing of real information because IBAN transactions contain your real life name and address details.

Beyond that, Relai is a quickly evolving company that just now released the 2.0 version of their app and have become their own broker to process bitcoin purchases for their clients. Congratulations to everyone at Relai for this achievement!

Before the 2.0 release, there had been rumours about a potential party appearing in the middle of Zurich, organized by the CEO of Relai, Julian. My dear friend Stephanie, aka @proofofsteph on twitter told me about this and it stuck in my head until one of my last visits to Prague in November when she confirmed that it was really happening. It was certainly short notice since, just a few days earlier, not even the official Relai Twitter account tweeted anything about it while I was rushing around to secure a ticket and accommodation for my stay.

My trip over to Zurich was rather uneventful.I encountered zero harassment from border guard agencies and nobody asked for any documentation. For Bitcoiners, the free movement of people and capital is of the utmost importance and it seems that sometimes this is possible across the Swiss border

It feels really great to be able to meet bitcoiners from around the world and this party was one great opportunity to do so.

The Relai party was held at Relai’s office in the beautiful city of Zurich, Switzerland. In fact, it’s exactly on top of the building where The House of Satoshi is located. It is a cosy little social space where people can sit down, enjoy a locally made beer or wine (or was it some sort of champagne or mead?) The space was created to educate people about bitcoin, with some hints of shitcoin here and there. Clearly, Bitcoin is the dominant setting and theme of the place.

From the moment you step in, everything about the space gives off the right Bitcoin vibes. That’s also how the party went.

I don’t want to accidentally out any bitcoiner who was at the party but everyone from the Relai Team were present and were making sure everyone had a great time. Endless Beer, pizzas and snacks were available putting everyone in a good mood.

Among the mingling bitcoiners, some were notable figures, like the sudden and short appearance of the LocalBitcoins.com founder who I completely managed to miss.

Steph aka @proofofsteph was wearing a tactfully chosen orange striped dress. If there were a Ms Party elected, it would definitely have been her..Maxim Orlovksy and Olga Ukolova also made an appearance at the event. Some local bitcoiners also came around whose names I am unable to remember, (I’m so sorry.)

A bitcoiner called Kenobi also came around just to meet cool bitcoiners. He was willing to sacrifice a good night’s sleep to spend the whole night with the cool kids. Hopefully, his ride back home on the train wasn’t too exhausting.

The Goon passed out copies of the Bitcoin Day newspaper, straight from El Salvador’s September edition on the day the Bitcoin law came into effect. Now that is some serious swag he was handing out like candy. People from Shift Crypto, the creators of the BitBox hardware wallet, were also around.

This party was one blast of a meetup that every bitcoiner can only wish to attend. Those who missed it will likely have to wait weeks or months until the next international meetup where more bitcoiners will be present from all around the world.

Every chance at organizing bitcoiners in one location in real life is rare. Don’t let borders or regulations stand in your way to meet those who matter the most in this revolution. Bitcoin truly deserves our participation.

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The event focuses on hacking and societal change that spreads awareness on freedom; it also educates visitors on topics they might have never encountered. From darknet stories to Bitcoin lightning node management, you will find everything at The Hacker’s Congress.

Of course, if you prefer to just meet people, you are at the best place since it has the most diverse crowd from all walks of life and educational backgrounds come to Hacker’s Congress.

It’s one of the biggest opportunities of the year to meet new people and network in the bitcoin space as more and more bitcoiners gain interest in attending the event. The amazing dinners and great time you can have is entirely priceless in the company of some of the best people within our ecosystem. It is usually a very flexible event in that, it is what you make out of it.

After my first attendance at Hacker’s Congress Paralelní Polis in Prague, I felt my views changed entirely on freedom and what freedom-seeking individuals can achieve together.

Since I couldn’t attend the Congress in person in 2020, I was looking for an excuse to attend this year’s conference and it couldn’t have turned out better.

Hacker’s Congress Paralelní Polis

Every year is a brand new slate for Hacker’s Congress: a new theme, new topics and current issues that affect society are often hot topics.

This year, it was Chaos. The chaoticism of today’s current world and how it affects everything from travel, politics, bitcoin and culture. Though this year’s event was not especially content-heavy, it was convenient for picking your interests.

Some of this year’s presentations were outstanding in content, for example, Mario Havel’s presentation on how he made a physical lightning wallet using LNBits, giving congress attendees access to instant payments on the venue. I personally never came across a physical Lightning Wallet that works like debit/credit cards and I was amazed how cool it is. Anyone has the opportunity to hack the physical wallet and attach their own LNBits payment details onto it to make payments. In this way, there’s no need to rely on Paralelni Polis’ custodial lightning service.

Frank Braun and Smuggler were also the highlights of the congress. Their presentations always show you something you haven’t thought of before. However, the main attraction for a bitcoiner like myself is the possibility of meeting other like-minded individuals.

It is an unwritten rule of bitcoin’s social organization, that if you want to take your connections to the next level, you must meet your peers in the flesh. Online interactions are one thing and anyone can shitpost on Twitter, but have you ever met someone? Have you ever sat down in a restaurant, ate a steak together and had conversations about funny things that happened in life? It is an experience everyone must have because bitcoiners are some of the most vivid and intelligent beings on this planet worthy of your company.

I started organizing the Annual Bitcoin Maxi Dinner in Prague, a day before the Congress kicks off, and it has now become a tradition. Initially, this dinner was an impromptu meetup that outgrew itself and has become an annual event. Great people who matter in the Bitcoin space come to indulge in good food and good company for a lengthy night. This year, the meetup was amazingly large and continues to grow. The usual dinners organized spontaneously during the congress by other bitcoiners are also highly recommended. If you are unsure of how to attend these dinners, just ask your fellow peers whether or not they have plans to go eat out later during the day or night. Don’t be afraid to stop large groups moving outside to ask whether they are heading to a pub or a restaurant.

The Balance on Privacy

So, you can get to meet bitcoiners in the flesh, but isn’t this also a privacy conference?

It certainly is!

Some people often hide their identities at these events, wary of cameras and surveillance. I, myself, wear a mask constantly that hides my traits, this is what privacy is about.

I do not want cameras taking pictures of me and I exercise my right to be selective about who I reveal my real identity to. This “information” is exclusive, not everyone is granted a right to violate my privacy in such ways. Without masks we all violate each other’s privacy, therefore why should one not wear a mask?

Everyone should have the choice of whom to selectively reveal their identity to. When I attend dinners, I usually only go with groups who I trust or feel comfortable with going, down to the personal level. It is a super intimate experience, forming connections with others that will likely last a lifetime if treated right.

Should you Attend?

Bitcoin might have an ever-changing price, but the connections you make while participating in its revolution is priceless. Revealing your identity partially to make others more comfortable around you and showing them a level of trust you put into their hands to handle is powerful.

From one bitcoiner to another, would I recommend the yearly attendance of Hacker’s Congress Paralelní Polis? Yes, definitely! I can’t shill this event enough. But what I will tell everyone is that you should drop whatever you are doing in the first week of October and attend, whatever the cost may be. As always, it is a real pleasure to meet real bitcoiners who have real skin in the game and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I hope to see the dear reader there one day as well!

If you want to find out more about Hacker’s Congress or about Paralelní Polis, check out https://paralelnipolis.cz

This is a guest post by Karo Zagorus. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Wasabi Wallet or zkSNACKs Ltd.

Bio: Karo Zagorus is a Bitcoin Maximalist, he is the author of the book “Bitcoin and the Trust Problem” (to be released), he actively contributes cultural content for Bitcoin Magazine and Citadel 21. You can find out more about him at http://btcdragonlord.com or find him on Twitter at @btcdragonlord

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The answer to this question has been revealed at the unveiling of the Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Budapest, Hungary where a life-sized bronze bust of Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto has been erected.

Though there have been countless speculations regarding Satoshi’s identity since the October 31st publication of the Bitcoin white paper almost 13 years ago and the subsequent creation of Bitcoin’s Genesis Block, no one has come close to revealing who Bitcoin’s creator is.

The concept, which was the work of Hungarian sculptors Réka Gergely and Tamás Gilly portrays Satoshi as a hooded figure whose facial features are obscured by a bronze and aluminum alloy heavily polished to reflect the faces of anyone who comes close enough, emphasizing Nakamoto’s unknown identity.

Regardless of Satoshi’s true identity, András Győrfi, the event’s co-founder and Bitcoin advocate believes that a new chapter in the history of the internet was opened with Nakamoto’s invention of digital currency with blockchain technology being a significant contribution to the world.

Here’s what he had to say about today’s event:

On creating a Satoshi Nakamoto statue

I truly believe as a journalist working in this field that Bitcoin, and especially, the blockchain has a huge significance, and we’re only scratching the surface in what Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and especially the blockchain can do in all sorts of fields. I’ve mentioned art, logistics, finance and the list goes on and on, science and beyond. So Bitcoin itself, yes, extremely important. Cryptocurrencies, yes, very important. It’s going to be huge. Trillions of dollars, I believe. But the blockchain is our main focus, the blockchain as a general use technology for various fields.

This is why he deserves a statute.

On choosing the location,  Graphisoft Park

Graphisoft was the first company in the world in the 1980s to use computers for architectural design. It was a huge, huge thing. Even Steve jobs invested in them. He has a statue, not far from here. Mr Gábor Bojár, the founder of Graphisoft, built these office buildings and this [campus] as a startup hub. So this is a cradle for innovation. It’s not only beautiful. It’s very inspiring. A lot of young people, a lot of great ideas, so this is perfect. It wasn’t easy to find a location, but we found this and they welcomed us with open arms and we truly believe that this is the perfect location, not only because of the beauty of this place, but what it represents.

Placing the Statue close to Steve Jobs’ Sculpture

Both of them are idols of the global IT industry; very different fields, probably very different personalities, different goals, but they’re both idols. They both fit into a hand full of icons of the tech industry with Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and the list goes on.

On Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity

It doesn’t matter. His gender, his race, his age, his nationality. It doesn’t matter. We are all Satoshi.

On Wasabi Wallet

I believe that the technology is advanced behind Wasabi and I think Wasabi is one of those companies of the crypto industry that are trying to push the envelope…

Wasabi represents the attitude that every crypto company should have, that we don’t want to make millions of dollars in two weeks, we want to create a product that advances the technology.

The biggest takeaway from today’s Satoshi Nakamoto Reveal

You never know where your ideas are gonna take you and what your ideas can grow into. The best example is the statute itself. As I said, I was sitting there and on a rainy afternoon I had this idea and in my first [and even] my second thought was, ah, okay, who cares? But then I told one of my colleagues, then another colleague, then I called one of the sponsors and another one. And everybody, everybody threw in a great idea. For example, Gabriela Debrecen from Mr Coin, the first Hungarian cryptocurrency exchange. She told me that Satoshi has to wear a hoodie. I wanted those old fashion hats from the 1920s and to put a Bitcoin logo on the edge of the, or the rim at the hat, Gabriela told me, “that’s crazy!”

If you have an idea, then, go for it. Not all ideas are going to work out. Of course, I failed in a lot of things, but sometimes, you’re going to succeed.

Thank you András Győrfi for taking our interview and thank you for making the first state of Satoshi Nakamoto happen.

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